[CPEO-MEF] Vieques Digest 8/16/01

[bieke@coqui.net]

1. Civil disobedientes continue to enter Navy restricted zone in Vieques

2.  Report from the Peace and Justice Camp August 5

3.  Navy places lives of civil disobedients in danger

4. 53rd Anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan

5.  Reverend Wilfredo Estrada arrested in Navy bombing zone at Vieques

6.  Viequenses in solidarity with students arrested by PR police

7. International Delegation visits Vieques


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3 August,  2001

Press Release

Civil disobedientes continue to enter Navy restricted zone in Vieques
Late last night a group of civil disobedients enterred military lands and
began moving toward the bombing zone in Vieques to create obstacles to US
Navy exercises.

The groupo incuded Boston teacher of Mexican extraction, Susana Stringer
V=E9lez; Puerto Rico radio pesonality Rafy Torres; UPR Academic Senate=
 member,
Jos=E9 Brenes La Roche; archeaologist, Albert Ruiz Bunker; Worker=
 Federation
Organizer, Socorro Ramos; and Viequense, Alfonso Rivera.  The participated=
 in
a series of workshops on civil disobedience at the Peace and Justice Camp
before entering the bombing zone.

Simult=E1neamente y por otro lugar entraron a la zona restringida varios=
 ex
presidentes del Colegio de Abogados de Puerto Rico, entre ellos, el Lcdo.
Noel Col=F3n Mart=EDnez, Eduardo Villanueva y Graciany Miranda Marchand. =
 Otros
miembros de esa brigada son el Lcdo. F=E9lix Col=F3n Morera, la Pastora=
 Lucy
Rosario de Vieques, Miriam Sob=E1, portavoz de la Alianza de Mujeres
Viequenses, el Reverendo Germ=E1n Acevedo Delgado, Secretario General de
Ministerios Globales de la Iglesia Metodista de Nueva York y H=E9ctor=
 P=E9rez
Acevedo y Ren=E9 Salv=E1 Garc=EDa.

Simultaneously and through another area, several ex presidents of the=
 Puerto
Rico Bar Association - Noel Col=F3n Mart=EDnez, Eduardo Villanueva and=
 Graciany
Miranda Marchand - entered the Navy=B4s restricted area. Other members of=
 the
brigade include lawyers Felix Col=F3n;  Pastor Lucy Rosario of Vieques
Methodist Church;  Miriam Sob=E1, of the Vieques  Women=B4s Alliance;=
 Reverend
Germ=E1n Acevedo Delgado, Secretary General of  Global Ministries of the
Methodist Church of NY; H=E9ctor P=E9rez Acevedo and Ren=E9 Salv=E1=
 Garc=EDa.

 During the scouting process previous to the entrance of a third group=
 last
night, a violent incidente ocurred when military personnel and federal
marshalls shot tear gas grenades and rubber bullets at several civil
disobedients and reporters.  Thomas van Hotryve, photo journalist for the
Associated Press, was shot in the elbow during the incident.  Members of=
 the
press, who happen to be celebrating Journalists Week in Puerto Rico,=
 strongly
denounced the excessive and indiscriminate use of force used against the
press and others in the area of the perimeter fence=20

 Contacto:  Robert Rabin, CPRDV 787 375-0525


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5 August, 2001
Report from the Peace and Justice Camp
Once more the Peace and Justice Camp (PJC), directed by the Committee for=
 the
Rescue and Development of Vieques (CRDV), is the center of intense protest,
coordination and organizing related to the civil disobedience actions by the
CRDV and other community organizations and solidarity groups. As during the
referendum campaign, now in the face of navy maneuvers, the PJC serves as=
 the
principal command, communications and meeting center for the Vieques=
 community
in struggle against the US Navy presence.
We were visited yesterday by Bishop Margarita Mart=EDnez, first woman,=
 Hispanic
and Puerto Rican elected Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of=
 America.
Reverend Wilfredo Estrada, of the Ecumenical Coaltion and several other=
 leaders
of different denominations have accompanied us in these moments of pain and=
 of
happiness between bombing, protests and arrests.
The, Diocese Caguas of the Catholic Church set up, for these and past
maneuvers, a space at the PJC, for reflection and for the religious and lay
personnel who have come to participate in the protest and in civil=
 disobedience
actions. Bishop Rub=E9n Gonz=E1lez, yesterday blessed the four members of=
 the
Diocese brigade who yesterday entered into the restricted zone with the
coordinating support of the CRDV.
Another brigade of seven received orientation and made final preparations at
the camp before leaving for the bombing zone on Thursday. Susan Stringer=
 V=E9lez,
member of the PJC work team during these past two months, was arrested
yesterday as part of this brigade. We are greatly pleased that the resources
and facilities of the PJC and the CRDV are extensively use for civil
disobedience actions coordinated with the Horsemen for Peace, Friends of the
Ocean-Friends of Vieques Collectives, Socialist Workers Party, the team from
Monte Carmelo among other groups in this struggle.
We take this opportunity to congratulate the Puerto Rican youth for its
consistent action in favor of the demilitarization of Vieques. At the PJC,
dozens of young people have been working for several days on maintenance,
construction, protesta and civil disobedience actions. On Friday, a large=
 group
of young people blocked the entrance to the Navy=B4s Camp Garc=EDa here,=
 stopping
the entrance of a truck carrying rolls of wire to mend the Navy=B4s cyclone
fence. The young people and all involved in this actions demonstrated a high
level of commitment and discipline.A special area has been set up at the=
 camp
for the press - local and international - covering the historic events of=
 this
struggle of the people of Vieques and all Puerto Ricans. Hundreds of people
from the main island of Puerto Rico, from the US and other countries have=
 been
housed at the PJC during the past months of intense military maneuvers and
constant actions of peacefull civil disobedience.
During the months of April to Agost, the operational costs, both basic and
extraordinary, of the Peace and Justice Camp-CRDV, have increased=
 dramatically.
The average weekly food cost is over five hundred dollars - even with the=
 many
contributions of food from our community - to feed the many groups that=
 arrive
at the camp. Materials such as flares, specialized foods for civil
disobedients, gasoline for fishing boats, together with the regular costs of
the camp (rent, electricity, water, telephone, repairs) represent another
responsibility of the PJC-CRDV. We appeal to the solidarity of all those who
support peace and justice to help us cover the costs of this historic and
heroic struggle of the people of Vieques, Puerto Rico.

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6 August, 2001 Comunicado de Prensa
Navy places lives of civil disobedients in danger
Around 8:20 PM on Monday, August 6th, the Peace and Justice Brigade, that
includes Reverend Wilfredo Estrada Adorno, made radio contact with the Peace
and Justice Camp (PJC) to indicate their position in the Navy's bombing=
 range.
They informed that despite having fired several flares to make their=
 presence
known to personnel in the Navy's observation post, shelling from ships
continued.=20
Robert Rabin, from the PJC, called the officer in charge, Cotto, at the OP,=
 to
denounce this situation. In conversation with Rabin, military officials
admitted having seen the flares and accepted they had stopped the firing.
We strongly denounced these acts of insensibility and lack of humanity by=
 the
Navy that put at risk the lives of our people whose presence in the bombing
zone is made clear. The US Navy not only ignores the democratically=
 expressed
will of 70% of the the Viequense electorate that voted recently for the
immediate end to military practices here, but also shows no concern for the
lives of people who are obviously in the bombing zone.


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6 August, 2001
Press Release
53rd Anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan
Early in the morning of Monday, August 6th, a group including the Reverend
Wilfredo Estrada Adorno; the Viequense, Warren Casanova; university students
Yanid And=FAjar and Jos=E9 Javier Ben=EDtez; doctor Jos=E9 Antonio Rivera=
 Nev=E1rez. The
group will stay in the Navy's restricted zone as long as possible to create
obstacles for military exercises scheduled to continue through Wednesday.
Befor entering into Navy territory, Revernd Estrada held a press conference=
 and
stated that:
"I believe the time has come for the leadership of this country that=
 believes
in this cause to accompany the people into the restricted zone to peacefully
defend what the Viequenses valiently expressed at the voting polls." Estrada
added: "Certainly it is not the momento to be silent. We must place=
 ourselves
on the side of the Viequenses. Today I take my pastoral activity again to=
 the
bombing range, without doubts and without fear. I invite all those who feel=
 the
same to meet us in the bombing zone, later in the federal jail and after=
 that,
with our heads held high, the day of the great celebration of the liberation=
 of
Vieques."=20
Also on Monday, around four in the morning, the "Chagui" Mari Pesquera=
 Brigade
entered the restricted zone. This brigade included three generations of
lawyers: Lawyer Juan Mari Bras; his son, Lcdo. Juan Ra=FAl Mari Pesquera and
grandson, Ra=FAl Mari. All were arrested close to 10 AM on Monday close to=
 the
entrance to Camp Garc=EDa.=20
We also received information from the Milivy Adams Brigade, that it was=
 inside
the bombing zone since Friday, August 3rd. Three of the members of the=
 brigade
- Aura Broida, Diego de la Cruz and Mart=EDn Castro Avila - returned safely=
 to
the civilian sector. Rub=E9n Dar=EDo, V=EDctor Torres, Jos=E9 S=E1nchez and=
 Orlando
Gonz=E1lez, all members of the group, were arrested. Freddie Marrero,=
 another
member of the brigade who remained inside the restricted zone to carry out=
 the
mission, called around seven AM to inform that all was in order.
We mention again that brigades of Viequenses knocked down hundreds of feet=
 of
the cyclone fence that surrounds the Navy=B4s eastern end lands.

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Reverend Wilfredo Estrada arrested in Navy bombing zone at Vieques
Early this morning the Peace and Justice Camp received information about the
arrest of Reverend Wilfredo Estrada Adorno and the other members of the=
 Peace
and Justice Brigade that took place in the bombing zone on the eastern end=
 of
Vieques in the early morning hours.
Around 8:20 PM on Monday, August 6th, the Peace and Justice Brigade, that
includes Reverend Wilfredo Estrada Adorno, made radio contact with the Peace
and Justice Camp (PJC) to indicate their position in the Navy's bombing=
 range.
They informed that despite having fired several flares to make their=
 presence
known to personnel in the Navy's observation post, shelling from ships
continued.=20
Close to 11 o=B4clock last night, the Sub Commissioner for Vieques and ex=
 Mayor,
Radam=E9s Tirado, informed personnel at the PJC that the actions of Reverend
Estrada=B4s brigade paralyzed, for several hours, the shelling exercises=
 from US
Navy ships. Tirado also informed that officers on board the warships=
 insisted
on continuing with the shelling, but military officials at the Navy=B4s
observation post, convinced of the presence of civil disobedients in the=
 zone,
did not permit the continuation of military operations.
We strongly denounce these acts of insensibility and lack of humanity by the
Navy that put at risk the lives of our people whose presence in the bombing
zone is made clear. The US Navy not only ignores the democratically=
 expressed
will of 70% of the the Viequense electorate that voted recently for the
immediate end to military practices here, but also shows no concern for the
lives of people who are obviously in the bombing zone.
At the Luisa Guadalupe Camp, located one mile south of the entrance to Camp
Garc=EDa, military personnel shot tear gas grenades, without any provocation=
 from
protesters congregated there. Spokespersons from the Committee for the=
 Rescue
and Development of Vieques have denounced, on several occasions, the acts of
violence by Navy personnel againt participants in peaceful acts of protest=
 or
civil disobedience.

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10 August, 2001
Press Release
Viequenses in solidarity with students arrested by PR police
Spokespersons for the Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques
(CRDV) expressed solidarity with the young people arrested in Monte Carmelo=
 for
allegedly tossing molotov coctails at a US Navy vehicle during recent=
 maneuvers
on the island. The Viequenses denounced the arrests as part of a Navy plan,
with the compliance of the Puerto Rico police, to create a negative image of
the peacefull civil disobedience struggle. "After a victorious period of=
 civil
disobedience in which over sixty people penetrated the Navy's restricted=
 zone,
paralyzing the bombing on several occasions, the Navy now creates a case to=
 try
and change the sympathies in this struggle, to portray the Navy as the=
 victim.
This trick does not work any more with our people", expressed Ismael=
 Guadalupe,
spokesman for the CRDV.
Other members of the Vieques group condemned the participation of the Puerto
Rican police in the arrest and the security provided by the Police along the
Navy perimiter fence. "For whom do the Puerto Rico work?", asked Robert=
 Rabin,
another CRDV spokesperson. "During the maneuvers the police guard the Navy
property instead of serving and protecting the Vieques community against the
criminal US Navy", finished Rabin.
Navy personnel attacked protesters and journalists during the past exercises
and the Puerto Rico police have not taken any action against the military,
according to the Viequenses. They denounced that the same government of=
 Puerto
Rico that sponsored a referendum in which the peopole voted for the=
 immediate
cessation of bombing, provides security services for the Navy to carry out
those very bombing exercises.

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13 August, 2001
Press Release
International Delegation visits Vieques
An international delegation is in Vieques to collect information about the
impact of the US Navy presence there and the people=B4s struggle for
demilitarization. The delegates are from Hawaii, Phillipines, and diverse
communities throughout the US, that also struggle against the impact of
military presence and activities. The group will share with the people of
Vieques the experiences of their respective struggles and learn from the
intense struggle on Vieques as well as exchange strategies on community
participation.
The Caribbean Project for Peace and Justice and the Fellowship of
Reconciliation, together with the Committee for the Rescue and Development=
 of
Vieques, organize this fourth delegation for decontamination,=
 demilitarization
and solidarity with the struggle for peace on Vieques. This year=B4s=
 participants
include delegates from the Phillipines, Hawaii, the Wamapog indigenous=
 people
of Massachusetts, representatives of Afro American and Hispanic communities=
 in
California, Texas, Tennessee, among other places. Many of the participants=
 have
great experience working with federal agencies in the decontamination=
 process
in areas used by US military forces. Others are community leaders who have
successfully pushed for community participation in the clean up and transfer=
 of
lands processes.=20
This Wednesday, 15 August, the delegation will participate in a talk on=
 health
and military decontamination at the University of Puerto Rico=B4s Medical
Sciences Campus (Ampitheatre 1) at 10:30 AM. Wednesday night at 7:00 the=
 group
will make a presentation at the Bar Association. The public in general is
invited to participate in these activities.

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